


Passive Aggression

by sei_shonanon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-09
Updated: 2011-03-09
Packaged: 2017-10-16 19:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/168672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sei_shonanon/pseuds/sei_shonanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mai lets the Fire Nation court know what's what.<br/><b>Prompt: Mai/Zuko, protocol</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	Passive Aggression

The news of the Banished Prince’s return had spread through the entire palace approximately five minutes after Azula’s ship had landed. Everywhere she went, Mai heard whispers and murmurs—Prince Zuko this, Prince Zuko that—in fact, she thought in annoyance, the only thing she  _couldn’t_  find was Zuko himself. She hadn’t seen him all morning and she was thoroughly sick of looking for him.

 _'Finally,'_  she thought as she turned a corner and spotted Zuko talking to a group of courtiers. He looked stiff and awkward, and Mai winced internally. Spending the last few years in some godforsaken wilderness somewhere had clearly left him out of practice dealing with court politics, and the courtiers were smelling blood in the water. She could see the hint of a smirk on more than one face, and as she approached she could hear one nobleman addressing Zuko with the absolute minimum of politeness owed to a member of the royal family. Well, she would take care of  _that._

She strode between the courtiers with her head held high, not sparing them a single glance, then stopped in front of Zuko and sank gracefully into a bow. Down, down, into a very  _deep_  and pointedly respectful bow. She held the pose for a long moment, shooting sharp glances left and right at the suddenly-silent men. Everyone knew exactly  _who_ had brought Mai back to the capital, and no one wanted to cross one of Azula’s favorites.

“Your Highness,” she murmured after a pause, lifting her eyes to meet Zuko’s bewildered gaze, “May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Uh—of course. I’ll…walk with you.” Zuko nodded an awkward dismissal to the courtiers, and they bowed back deeply—equaling, Mai noticed to her satisfaction, the  _precise_ degree of formality she had dictated with her own bow. 

As she and Zuko walked away together, she felt a tiny, tiny smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

“What was all that?” Zuko asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she answered with a dismissive shrug. “Boring politics.”

  


END  


**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a scene in the play _Emily of Emerald Hill_ by Stella Kon.  
>  (I failed at Porn Battle by writing politicking instead.)


End file.
